The present invention relates to a receptacle for smoking waste, such as cigarette butts or cigar butts. In the United States alone, studies from the American Heart Association have indicated an average of 22% of adults in the United States smoke cigarettes.
Smoking legislation has forced the smoking public to move outdoors from public buildings in several states. Smoking is not permitted within some buildings for other reasons. The building management typically provides only specific designated smoking areas. This results in smoking-waste litter concentrated in a specific area.
It is not desirable to use traditional open-container ashtrays in these areas. Such an ashtray often has a small capacity and fills up quickly with smoking waste, which requires frequent cleaning. The cigarette butts are left exposed, creating an unsightly condition, odor, and a possible hazard because the cigarette butts are not completely extinguished. Also the traditional ashtray typically includes rest notches, which encourage a smoker to set a smoldering cigarette on the ashtray, thereby creating second hand smoke.
Manufacturers have introduced smoking stations or receptacles for use in these designated smoking areas. Conventional smoking receptacles are often designed to contain the smoking waste within the receptacle and are generally large, sometimes having heights of 36 inches or taller. The smoking waste typically enters the receptacle through a small hole at the top and travels through a long neck until falling into a collection container at the bottom. Conventional smoking receptacles have several drawbacks.
First, some conventional receptacles suffer from an undesirable amount of smoldering of deposited cigarettes. Smoldering is undesirable because it results in second hand smoke and can cause fires. A conventional receptacle may provide sand in the collection container for the purpose of causing deposited cigarettes to extinguish themselves in the sand. After a sufficient number of cigarettes are deposited, however, the sand becomes covered and is rendered useless. Moreover, the user must sift through the dirty sand/butt mixture to empty the collection container. Another conventional receptacle includes baffles within the neck to reduce the amount of oxygen inside the receptacle, for the purpose of shortening the amount of time a cigarette can smolder. However, trash or cigarettes deposited in the receptacle may rest on the baffles and clog the neck inside of the receptacle.
Second, fires may occur within conventional smoking receptacles if flammable trash is deposited in them. For example, a conventional receptacle may make it easy to force trash, such as gum wrappers or paper, through the receptacle opening and into the cigarette butt storage area. This build up of trash makes it easier for fires to start inside the receptacles. The fires started may burn inside of the receptacles. Some plastic receptacles have melted as a result of an internal fire. Receptacle manufacturers have, therefore, limited the size of the cigarette deposit opening (to inhibit the insertion of trash) in conjunction with filling the collection container inside the receptacle with sand (to extinguish fires). If the cigarettes cover the sand, however, the sand may not extinguish the smoldering butts and prevent fire. Receptacles with baffles also can experience problems preventing fires. The baffles can clog with trash, which enables the smoldering cigarette butts to start fires originating at the baffles.
Third, some conventional smoking receptacles also make it harder for the user to access the receptacles. Conventional receptacles provide limited areas for the user to deposit their cigarette or cigar butts. It is easy for users to miss these areas when they deposit their butts. The limited access makes it more likely to find cigarette and cigar butt waste on the ground rather than inside of the receptacles.
Fourth, it is relatively easy to steal parts of conventional smoking receptacles. A common way to protect a receptacle from thieves is to thread a bolt through the components of the receptacle. Other receptacles have keyed locking mechanisms. Too many thieves, however, are still able to abscond with receptacle parts.